with a crispy, spicy coating. at only a dollar, it's spicy, not pricey. but only for a limited time. from nbc news, this is "today" with kathie lee gifford and hoda kotb, live from studio 1-a in rockefeller plaza. >> i'm going right to left right off the bat. now right off the bat. it is thirsty thursday. you know what that means? it's not any other typical boozy thursday on our show, it is the official broadway opening of "scandalous" tonight. >> how sweet are those people?

>> 12 years plus. >> a smart person could have done it in half the time. >> tonight, there is going to be a red carpet. >> i know. >> it's going to be a lot of fun. >> i've been just numb. honestly, i've given birth twice to two children and raising them into fine human beings i always thought would be the hardest job in my life. thank god my son and daughter are a piece of pie compared to bringing a show to broadway. if somebody said the writing is the easy part compared to getting it produced and getting it to broadway. there are so many aspects that have to all come together at the same time. tonight my emotions are very much on the surface. >> i can see. >> i've had to be so gritty, steady eddie. >> it's going to be a fun red carpet before. everyone from the show is coming, matt, savannah, al, natalie. so many people here, regis and joy will be there with bells on. >> absolutely.

my hodi woman who got me through this. >> you know who my date is? liza minnelli! >> we are going to have a lot of fun. >> liza knows something about the theater. this woman is a legend in broadway. >> these are great t-shirts that say "scandalous" on them. beautiful. >> we're going to have some fun tonight. >> it does feel a lot like giving birth. that's joyful and painful at the same time. i want to thank everybody, thank you all so much for it. our sara is coming, too. >> of course. speaking of joyful and painful, we did anderson cooper yesterday. it's going to air on tuesday. >> the 20th, i think. >> there was a moment that happened before the show starts. usually to get the audience all lathered up there's someone who works the audience and plays music and what not. here is the drinking before. here is what happened before the show started.

we had a funky dance party. >> there was music, by the way. >> here is a video of you guys. >> there was music, by the way. >> let's show the video of you guys. that's fantastic. >> the guy was cranking it. >> spanking added an extra dimension. >> his name was jeff. >> he was one of the fun and raucous anderson cooper audience member. >> the only one i knew was the "360 degrees" anderson cooper. who's a very fine reporter and very serious-minded. i had no idea what a party animal he can be. he's a very cheap date. we did get him a little tipsy. no, gone. >> he kept saying throughout the show. i'm buzzed. like blurting stuff out. it was perfect. >> we had a lot of fun with him. we want to thank him for that. apparently there's been an update in the ongoing feud of the century between chelsea

handler and hoda and i, yeah. >> anyway, we told you about it. she was supposed to show up and she didn't because -- >> canceled about an hour and half before the show. >> hit her eye on the shower curtain then later had food poisoning. >> allegedly. >> but anyway, she decided to set the record straight on her own show. this is what she had to say. >> i have to apologize to the today "today" show for an interview and then i didn't show up and i lied. but to hoda kotoba and kathie lee i'm sorry. i really am usually professional but i just couldn't make it. >> half hearted but at least she's not lying. i don't know why. >> apology accepted. >> all right. welcome her back anytime. >> all right.

so vogue magazine comes out with its best dressed women of the year. we'll give you the top three. >> this surprised me. i haven't seen this lady about. from "the good life." she has an exotic look. >> number two on the list was from "the girl with the dragon tattoo." ? rooney mera granddaughter of ann mera who will be at "scandalous" tonight. and also emma stone. she has a great look and she mixes it up a lot. she doesn't have the same look. she is daring. she dut does a lot of different things. >> the "wall street journal" came out with an article. there are new rules for flirting, okay? elizabeth bernstein has been here before. >> she writes great articles. >> it opens doors, but sometimes can cause problems. think, some people are

flirtatious by nature, and some people turn it on to get what they want. some flirt to get out of traffic tickets. that's happened many times. >> really? you flirt? >> i found the best way is to be extremely gracious, not flirting because that can -- >> i am so sorry. no, you have to juice it a little. >> oh, hoda. >> you can't go, i was going 60 miles per hour in a 45. >> officer, i'm so sorry. how fast was i going? oh, my gosh, my kid is -- i would tell the truth in a very sincere way. i wouldn't go, gee, what am i in for, officer? >> you can do that. it works better. >> how much time am i going to do in the slammer? i don't know. i don't like to be around women that are just falling over someone. >> there is too much flirting and subtle, normal flirting.

>> hodi is a very, very tactile woman. >> i am and i think some people read into it in the wrong way. >> men, if you touch them, men will think you're ready to hop into the sack. >> yeah. >> that's why it bothers frank so much. >> you're tactile, too. >> and a night like tonight with a lot of people wishing me well will be the biggest nightmare in the world for frank. he'll hate it. >> not as much as you're going to hate my ihoda song. i've been dying for this one. this may be one of my favorite ihoda songs ever. you're going to hate it. it's going to take you back to a time when you couldn't sit, you had to dance. it is called "the humpty dance" by digital underground. you're going to love it. ♪ my body is in motion anyone can play this game ♪ this is my dance y'all you got it down humpty hump.

♪ shaking and bumping step off i'm doing the hump ♪ >> ready? >> no. ♪ do the humpty hump, do the humpty hump ♪ >> i'm speechless. >> how do you do the hump? what does it look like? >> does anybody else think that is strange? >> come on. >> sara, everybody is holding their nose. >> doesn't that take you back? >> awesome. that song is so great. >> you know what's awesome, okay or not okay? is it okay to have a work/spouse relationship? >> you say -- >> absolutely. i had a work husband for 15

years they still adore. anybody ever heard of r egis? >> as long as your real husband is okay with it. cassidy used to say you have the musical taste of a 17-year-old, no, it's 12-year-old. we are now drinking the beaujolais nouveau. it arrives he year on the third thursday of november to celebrate the first wine of the harvest. so happy harvest to george du bouef. >> congratulations to don nash. >> it was bad news we were losing our jim bell whom we adore, our executive proder, but we found out don nash we equally adore was going to be taking his post. we were thrilled. >> a toast to don. cheers. >> there are big changes coming to the hit nbc show "the voice." carson daly is going to reveal all.

>> two women get the makeover of their lives after these messages. ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] pop in a whole new kind of clean. with tide pods. a powerful three-in-one detergent that cleans. brightens. and fights stains just one removes more stains than the 6 next leading pacs combined pop in. stand out. i have a cold, and i took nyquil, but i'm still "stubbed" up. [ male announcer ] truth is, nyquil doesn't unstuff your nose.

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the final round of nbc's hit singing competition "the voice" brings a little twist and big drama. >> the fate of ten finalists rests solely in the hands of the viewers at home. one of the finalists, trevin hunt, floored the judges monday night. take a listen. ♪ when a man loves a woman down deep in his soul ♪ ♪ she can bring him such misery ♪ >> sing it! tell everybody what you were telling us. carson daly with us. >> good morning. >> what did somebody tell him? >> i said i want some wine. >> no, you didn't. somebody gave him a negative review. >> trevin hunt from right here

in new york. in eighth grade needed a recommendation, a signature from a fellow educator to go on, to get this music recommendation to go to the music school. they said you'll never amount to anything. you'll never be anything. look at him now. great story. >> about your show, by the way, when i heard the number of votes on the last elimination round exceeded the amount of votes on the finale of last year's "voice" shows how much this show has grown. >> it's unbelievable. it is. we had the super bowl. season one, what is this new show? is there room for another one of these shows? people believed in what we were doing. we have coaches, not judges, authentic, authentic, authentic. season two off the super bowl. season three, people found the show. >> good. >> other things are fading and other things are eclipsing. and that's what happens. >> and you're changing it up. you don't keep the same rules. you made it a little different. >> we looked at season two. everybody loves the blind auditions, the big red chairs,

you play along at home, hard to beat that. we figured we would introduce the steal. so much great talent was leaving and we can't let these people go. we introduced the steal where the coaches were incentivized to look at the other teams and keep their eye on people. it's the steals have been effective for this season in making the middle part of our format exciting. the chairs are back in. look at terry there, mcdermott. team blake. we have great talent this year. >> you're going to mix it up with the judges in the future. >> we are. we all knew from day one they are not reality judges by job trade. they are real artists. they've got to get out on the road. we refer to it as how lucky are we to have shakira and usher pinch-hitting for christina and cee lo next season. we shot a lot of that, by the way. it's awesome in a whole different way but it's still "the voice." fun, it's great. >> when something has to be an

hour or two-hour long show, it's structured. i think it's interesting how you guys have managed to keep it loosy goosy and it feels free. >> you say loosey-goosey in the morning. we refer to that as drunk. blake shelton, in particular. >> we are in love with him. >> i have to play traffic cop to all the drunk, loosey-gooseyness. that's the idea. we are having fun. i wear the ear, i work with the truck, we get the show off the air. they just try to keep it going. >> they have fun. >> their music is going crazy on itunes. that is another way people vote? by downloading the songs? >> you get extra points for that? >> yes. we have a new thing i was talking about where it's the multiplier. if they chart in the top ten that could count times ten for their final vote. itunes has become now the real litmus test for how america's enjoying and buying music. the fact that "the voice" artists are chartists is crazy. i wish you the best.

you're the best, by the way. every time i turn you on you're drinking and talking about "the voice" which is awesome. thank you. >> have a great finale. you can catch "the voice" next monday night at 8:00/7:00 here on nbc when the top ten sing for your vote. it is a big night for broadway and kathie lee. opening night for" scandalous" just hours away. we're going to take you behind the scenes right after this. [ male announcer ] this is sheldon, whose long dy setting up the news

starts with arthritis pain and a choice. take tylenol or take aleve, the #1 recommended pain reliever by orthopedic doctors. just two aleve can keep pain away all day. back to the news. the tension between them reached a breaking point, literally. so they divided the production between two separate factories. each factory took a vastly different approach. left twix flowed caramel on cookie, while right twix cascaded caramel on cookie. left twix bathed in chocolate, while right twix cloaked in chocolate. both bars as different as the vastly distinct men who invented them. to this day, sharing nothing but a wrapper and an ill-designed driveway. try both and pick a side.

in case you haven't heard, tonight is a big night for my good friend to my left here kathie lee. it's safe to say tonight is right up there after marrying frank and having two amazing children. that's because tonight the lights shine on broadway for "scandalous" the musical. kathie lee has poured her heart and soul in this for a dozen of years writing the book and lyrics. because i have a connection, i got a behind the scenes look before the curtain goes up tonight. take a look.

♪ >> we have a little show called "scandalous." >> let's talk about "scandalous." >> kathie lee gifford's musical is going to broadway. yeah, baby! >> should we sing the song? "hooray for hollywood from shirley temple to aimee semple ♪ >> kathie lee is out to change all that with "scandalous" a musical based on the life of evangelist aimee semple mcpherson. how would you describe her in a nutshell? >> a woman in history who has fallen through the cracks. she went on to become the most scandalous, controversial yet celebrated woman of her day. >> stop, you're drifting away from the faith of your fathers. >> 12 years i've been physically writing and trying to get it produced on broadway.

>> everybody agrees she was the best, though, right? >> she was really, really strong. >> we had four workshops, i think. >> two large out of town regional productions, well over 1,000 rewrites. it's all part of the process. i was fighting for every chance i got. >> you and emma jo. ♪ who needs good news >> carolee carmello in my mind is the finest working actress in the musical theater. there is not another actress i can think of who could play aimee the way carolee does. >> this is aimee's home away from home, the neil simon theater on broadway. this is such an exciting time. the cast, the crew, the creative team have been working round the clock to get this baby ready for opening night. are they ready? let's go backstage and find out.

>> oh, my god! >> hoda woman! >> is it time? >> it's almost. we are about a half hour from curtain. >> wait. >> you are center stage. this is the neil simon theater. would you like me to introduce you to some of the folks? take me back. what goes into it. this way first. >> of course. >> we heard a rumor the hotty with the body ed "hot" watts is here. one of the highlights for many of the women, you see something that is happening underneath this robe. what could it be? >> he plays adam. >> adam and eve. i've lost hoda woman. >> are you talking? >> i hope he makes it for curtain. >> opening night's knocking on the door, are you ready? >> a girl's got to do what a girl's got to do. >> sing a little of it. ♪ girl's gotta do what a girl's

gotta do ♪ a girl ain't got to do it no more ♪ >> how does it feel being this close to opening? >> i'm scared to death. >> caramel, my lovely wig master here is prepping my hair to be put under two wig caps. here are my microphones which live on the back of my head. in case one goes out there is a backup. i never leave the stage really. >> you've been on this project since its infancy. >> yeah, the early 40s. >> can you believe it? it's like opening night on broadway. >> she doesn't know whether to kiss me or curse me. >> you're going to sit there in the audience and watch that curtain go up on opening night. what will that be like? >> i think that's when it's finally going to hit me. it's my child and i had a lot of help birthing it and i hope it will live forever and touch people's hearts.

[ cheers and applause ] >> thank you, hoda. so many people have made a big thing about this taking me 12 years. my two composer friends david pomerantz and david friedman have been along with me and they don't get the same attention and that's not right. they're just amazing. >> going to be a fun opening night. >> this is the best friend in the whole world. supporting me so much. you know i've got great friends. god gave me you, hoda. thank you. >> thank you. next we'll go to our ambush makeover team and they'll put their finishing touches on a couple of beautiful women. right after this. >> less than 24 hours to go to the next "twilight" movie. we are going to chat with a beautiful vampire, ashley green. @

we are back with more of "today" on this thirsty thursday.

two ladies get swept up with hair and make-up and a head-to-toe new look. >> working their magic as always, >> "today" contributor and stylist to the star louis licari, la la la la la, never gets old. "us weekly" contributor and author jill martin. >> hey, guys. >> how was it today? >> it was good. great crowd. so we were look for two scandalous makeovers. >> here we go. lucinda, 47 years old from arizona. this married mother of six has had the same style for as long as she can remember. she has always been tempted to go for a shorter haircut but is scared to chop it herself. she is going to go short. let's listen to her story. >> we had to bully your mother into this. you think that she is ready? >> i think she is ready. she needs hair color and she's had the same look for a few years. so see what happens. >> now that you're inside with us, how are you feeling?

i know you were shaking outside. >> little nervous, but it will be okay. excited. >> oh, my gosh. >> you're in great hands. >> you certainly are. her daughter caitlin is here has her blindfold on. please keep it on till i give you the green light. here is lucinda before. let's see the new you. oh, i love it. >> oh, my gosh. >> yes. >> ready to take off your blind fold? take it off, honey. >> oh, my gosh! >> lucinda, come to me. now turn around and look right here in this mirror. >> oh, my gosh. >> look how beautiful you are. >> look right at this camera. >> that's still a long-haired look. >> i like that. >> lucinda wanted to hold on to her long hair but wanted style. vanessa gave it to her by shaping it around her face.

notice her beautiful jaw line? the first layer starts at the jaw line to emphasize it. i softened her hair color to make it brighter, prettier. >> luxurious. >> can we talk to kaitlin? caitlin is busting. tell us about what you think of your mom. >> it looks really good. i like the color and looks like a whole new person. >> tell us about the outfit. looks great on her that blue. >> and blue matching yours. she said no at first to this makeover. we did kind of bully her into this. once we got the outfit on, this is andrew marc and kendra scott. she was set. >> lucinda, are you happy you did this? >> yes, yes. >> a big round of applause. >> join your daughter right over there. >> our second lady is renee, 54 from alexandria, illinois. this woman is in town to see "scandalous." i'm so happy. she isn't used to wearing make-up but she was up for a day of broadway beauty. >> all right.

renee has the sign, but peg you want this for your dear friend. you're busting. >> i am. i am so excited. she always looks the same. she is so pretty. i want her to look like a hotty or glamorous or whatever. >> what do you think about that, a hotty, is that what you want to look like? >> i just want to look different. i have had the same look for a long time. and i'm a grandma, so it would be nice to look different. >> louis licari will make you the hottest-looking grandma in the country. . all right. that would be great. >> renee is a wonderful lady. she is here with her dear friend peg. let's take one last look at renee and bring the new renee out all ready for broadway. >> nice. >> beautiful. all right, peg, you want to take it off? take a look. >> oh, my god! you look wonderful.

>> turn around. see what you look like. >> oh, my gosh. >> i don't recognize myself. >> you look gorgeous. >> i see a little red in that hair. i love it. >> it's more like a chestnut brown. what i tried to do here, look at the before, it's heavy, too dark. the lighter color makes it softer. that makes her hair look twice as full with a great haircut. both ladies have this natural pink glossy sheer lipstick. >> i love it. >> peg is busting. >> i can't believe it. i wouldn't recognize her. you don't look like yourself. that's what i like about it. >> she knows what you means. tell us about this beautiful dress. >> the attire tonight is festive. we wanted to give her something festive and scandalous with a little lace. this is by maggie london. >> wow, great job. >> great job.

great job to vanessa, by the way. >> thank you. "twilight" victim vampire is in the house. she was with us over at anderson cooper yesterday. we're going to talk to her right after this. great job, everybody. oh...there you go. wooohooo....hahaahahaha! i'm gonna stand up to her! no you're not. i know. you know ronny folks who save hundreds of dollars switching to geico sure are happy. how happy are they jimmy? happier than a witch in a broom factory. get happy. get geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more.

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it is the final countdown for twi-hards. just hours from now, the last film in "twilight saga breaking dawn part two" opens in theaters. >> you can bet there won't be an empty seat. ashley green returns as a vampire with a special gift. take a look. >> what is it, alice? >> they're coming for us. >> every time she says that they do.

>> it's true and i'm right. >> so good to see you. we saw you yesterday. it will be on next week on anderson. we had a wild time. >> that was a crazy show. >> this is kind of sad in a way. this is the end of this series. i know it's heartbreaking for fans. how is it for you? >> it's a little sad. we've been doing it for so long and i feel like it's become my family this cast and i've become so comfortable with alice. she's so fun to play. so it's a little sad that it's all coming to an end. but the positive side is i think we had a really good run. everyone is really going to like this film. bill ended it in such a beautiful way. >> is it a surprise ending? people loved all the books. this is the only time they departed from the actual rendering in the book. >> yes. that was brave of them. you always wonder because there are such avid fans of the books. how it's going to translate if we change anything. i think what they did was really

cool. i'm excited for people to see it. >> how did it author feel about it? >> stephanie is now producer on the film, as well. anything we do totally goes through her. >> a lot of people know you from this film, but you're just a regular girl who likes to hang out in sweats, you like to bake. >> i do? >> we appreciate that. we like that. >> it suits you. it's interesting. >> when did that start? >> probably more recently. probably once i got into this industry. part of it is when my mom comes to visit, that's something we do together. my dad enjoys it because he gets to eat it all. there is something very therapeutic about being in the kitchen and baking. i actually enjoy it more than cooking. i feel like with baking you can't go so wrong. you can experiment a little bit. it's all supposed to taste sweet. >> will you have an opportunity to bake for your family this thanksgiving? will you be home in

jacksonville? what are your plans? >> yes. i'm going to go home to jacksonville which i wasn't planning to originally, but my dad is going to go to mexico. couldn't let my mom hang out alone. >> she is here with you in new york. >> we wish we could have met her. >> that's why she turned out the way she did. >> my parents are top notch. >> tell your mom hi for us. >> she is watching now. >> great to see you. she will be starting a new movie down in the new orleans area. >> you're busy. >> thanks for coming to see us. >> thank you. >> one of your favorite childhood cuties danica mckellar heads back to the small screen. >> she'll tell us all about it right after this. good morning i'm meteorologist crystal egg gr for your forecast. we're expecting the majority of the country to remain quiet today.

showers across central and southern florida. it's going to be chilly across the northeast but not looking at any rain at all. in fact around the great lakes upper midwest it's very quiet. a series of storms will be moving into the pacific northwest all the way down into central california. we're talking about rain, wind and mountain snow. you can see the colder air diving in across the rockies here. 41 degrees in minneapolis. that's about it. but warmer air starting to build through the nation's heartland, down across the southern plains. we'll be in the 50s here around new york city. and then by saturday, saturday is still quiet but an area of low pressure will be tracking up the coast off the southeast coast. that will bring large swells, continued swells across the ouncer banks of north carolina where we're already getting some coastal erosion. also impacting rip currents so be aware of that if you're heading out into the water. hopefully not a big time of year for that. rainshowers across northern florida and into central florida. even around orlando. it's still busy in the west. we've got another cold front

pushing in for saturday bringing more wet weather with it. 61 in san francisco, 52 in minneapolis. that's your saturday outlook. on sunday, pretty quiet across the area with the ex sense of the outer banks where we're getting more rain on the fringes of that storm. and more wet weather even some high elevation snow. but 6,000 feet. we could pick up a foot of snow in the sierra and the cascades of washington. western lakes looking at more rain on monday. you may run into some problems early next week. you can wake up with al and get the latest weekday forecast mornings at 5:30 a.m. [ female announcer ] today, jason is here to volunteer to help those in need. when a twinge of back pain surprises him. morning starts in high spirits, but there's a growing pain in his lower back. as lines grow longer, his pain continues to linger. but after a long day of helping others, he gets some helpful advice. just two aleve have the strength

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she drove all the young boys crazy, especially kevin arnold. the adorable winnie cooper on "the wonder years." now danica mckellar is a best-selling author. with four books to her name.

>> now she's gotten back to her acting roots starring in a new holiday romance called "love at the christmas table" on lifetime. >> good to see you. we are so glad it's not about math. we feel like such idiots. math isn't our thing though you say it could be. if we just put ourselves to it. >> absolutely. >> we'll not talk about that. >> getting your foot back into acting -- does it feel good to get back into the swing of that? >> it does. i love acting. i love writing the math books but i love acting. this movie is such a sweet fun movie. it's very christmassy and a comedy. it shows the characters every year at christmas. you see these two characters who meet at the children's table when they are 5. i play the character from 18 to 32. >> you rock some bangs, baby. >> yes, i do. >> how did you do that? . >> hair changes. that was part of it. attitude, posture. there are the bangs.

>> you're not much over that. >> i looked at myself in the mirror and say, oh, my gosh, it's winnie cooper. it was the weirdest thing. >> how cute is that? leah thompson is in the movie from "back to the future." i thought when we were shooting 2004 to 2007 to 1998, i'm going back to the future with leah thompson right now. >> is it like riding a bike? i know you've been doing little projects in between. "the wonder years" and this. was it easy to get back into it? >> yes. i love it. dustin my co-star was amazing to work with, too. it was a great experience. >> and you've gone through tough stuff in your own personal life. it's wonderful to get your mind off something like that. you have a beautiful baby boy. two years old now. >> i know. he's kind of in the movie. there he is. >> kind of in the movie, what does that mean? >> he's in the very last scene. the camera pans by. you have to hit pause to see

him, bii know he's there. >> what's it like raising a 2-year-old? >> it's joy, pure, pure joy. yes, there's the late nights, et cetera, et cetera, but he is the apple of my eye, the love in my heart, everything. >> do you take him on the set? >> yeah. that's how he ended up on camera. >> if you don't, you won't see them. somebody else will raise your children. >> i know it. it's unacceptable. they love it. they get a lot of attention. they have a good time. they know they are loved. >> i love this picture. what is your next project? >> a sci-fi channel movie coming out next year. i'm not sure exactly when. but i love acting and i'm going to get more into that. >> you're our favorite math wiz. >> thank you. >> november 26th is when the movie airs. just in time for christmas spirit right after thanksgiving. >> perfect. >> got a problem around the house that you don't know how to handle? ask lou. >> he's got all the answers.

♪ you can help othersink along the way. ♪ ♪ a portion of every bottle that they sell goes to fight ♪ ♪ breast cancer and i think that's swell. ♪ ♪ the more you take, the more they'll pay, ♪ ♪ so make them write a big check today. ♪ ♪ and if you're feeling a little slow, ♪ ♪ then 5-hour energy will help you go. ♪ ♪ so buy a bottle of pink lemonade and ♪ ♪ you can help fight breast cancer today. ♪ but i still have a runny nose. [ male announcer ] dayquil doesn't treat that. huh? [ male announcer ] alka-seltzer plus rushes relief to all your worst cold symptoms, plus it relieves your runny nose. [ sighs ] thank you! [ male announcer ] you're welcome. that's the cold truth!

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of "ask lou" where viewers send in questions about the pesky household problems they don't know how to fix. >> he knows how to fix everything. here with the answers "today" contributor and host of the show "house smart, lou manferdini. >> first question from jennifer. how i do get a disgusting smell out of my garbage disposal? >> i have a love/hate relationship but people use them as garbage cans. this is what's under the sink you don't see. this part is what you see, the part where the water goes down. i want you to take any cleaner, pine sol, simple green, spray a little down inside. take your toilet brush and go down inside here with it off of course and scrub. what happens on the side wall, all that gunky smelly stuff. rinse, repeat. you'll be amazed how nice and fresh it smells. that's it.

>> does it help to put vinegar in there? >> it would, but you have to scrub. everybody pours it and it's on the side. you've got to do the scrubbing. >> janet has a question about her sump pump. how do we change our sump pump? we had it since the builder installed it in 1996. it's worked just fine but we feel like it's time for a new one. >> a couple of numbers here. most sump pumps should be replaced every seven years. the switch, this is an example of one should be replaced every three. 1996, you're getting your money's worth out of it. >> people lose track. >> absolutely. you put it on your calendar. it unplugs. this is similar to what it looks like. this is the check valve. this is the pipe coming out. take the screwdriver here and remove this from the check valve. then pull this out of the pit. then buy a new one. this pipe right here screws in. that's all it does. screws back in when you put the new one in.

taking forever. >> we like to watch you work. >> hold on. you plug it back in, screw everything back together. you're done. a decent sump pump is going to cost you a couple of hundred dollars, but will protect your basement from flooding. >> this is important because a lot of people needed generators. how do you install these? from a "today" show producer. >> this is a portable generator. it's all about the wattage. this particular one is 3,000 watts. this will do things like a refrigerator, a few lights, maybe a pump. you need to remember the kinds of things you are powering, for instance, a refrigerator uses 600 watts when it runs. when it first starts, it uses 1,200 watts. that get up and go is key. what people the mistake they make, notice i have this plug in wire right here. this is a separate breaker and feed off this generator nobody ever uses. >> why?

>> they don't know this. they use these plugs here and like why can't i run more off my generator? getting a cord like this and plugging it in. you notice on the end i have a splitter where you can plug in more cords, you get the full maximum power that this or other generators can provide. keep in mind need to be 20 feet away from the house. it's never in an inclosed area. and you need to keep it monitored. they also make them now that run on propane. >> i was going to say if you don't have power, what is that running on? >> gasoline. in the northeast, gas stations didn't have power. couldn't get gas. they run them on propane. >> how to keep woodpeckers away? >> i learned this in florida. take fishing line, put a few nails on the outside of your cedar siding. you make a net. this fishing line is pretty heavy. if you go with lighter fishing line, you won't see it. the woodpeckers don't want to get tangled up in it. >> who is smarter than lou? >> nobody. >> tomorrow, oscar-nominated actress jackie weaver. >> all american animfo